Category Archives: Floral

Hope you guys had a great Halloween celebration. I get spooked easily so Halloween can get a little eerie for me. I do adore the cute & creative costumes people put together for their children and it does get the neighbors and families together to trick-or-treat. I do find joy in that aspect of Halloween — and the candy too of course;)

Well, I just updated two very old tutorials I created back in 2011, the CHRISTINE Birdcage Veil & the CAMRYN Flower Fascinator. After creating the new tutorials, I was tempted to delete the old ones since I cringe when watching them. After giving it some thought, I decided to keep it up on the channel. As much as it is painful for me to watch them, in a sense, I still am very proud of them. It is a reminder of why I started and how I taught myself to edit a video, even if it was elementary. I put a lot of hard work, sweat & time into each tutorial I create so why not keep it uploaded? Well, I hope you enjoy the new tutorials…

Hope you are doing wonderful! Here is the DIY Floral Ring Bearer Pillow I promised. Thank you to our Guest Florist Tracy with Blissful Moments for teaching us how to make the adorable Pillow — what a creative way to carry the ring down the aisle!

FYI, April and May has been such busy months for me personally. Busy in all the wonderful ways life can offer right now…all my children’s Birthdays, my son Big J’s First Communion, My hubby Mr. T graduating from a program that will take him a step closer to his dream career, and of course Mother’s Day this weekend. So to all the Mothers out there – Happy Mother’s Day!!!!

lol! My sister Linda shared this Mother’s Day Greeting with me last year…just had to share it again:) Also, my Birthday is coming up. Guess what I get to do? Take a motorcycle class! I know, I sound like I’m going through a midlife crisis but it is something I’ve been wanting to do since my early 20’s….and I’m doing it! Woohoo! Don’t worry, it’s just a class:)

I hope you are enjoying this beautiful weather we are having today in Sugar Land. It makes me want to go outside, take in the sun, and drink some tea:)

Well, I have a special Guest Florist, Tracy with Blissful Moments who will teach us how to make a Flower Girl Pomander Ball (aka Kissing Ball). There are so many uses for a Pomander Ball. They are great for Wedding Decor, Bridal Showers, Baby Showers, Parties, or even for Home Decor. I put an inspiration board together on my Pinterest page if you would like to see other uses…feel free to click {here} to view my Pinterest board.

Enjoy the Tutorial!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask:)

It was really fun to have company while filming so thank you Tracy! We will have several other DIY Guests coming soon so I’m excited about this 2014 year. I do realize I need to get a microphone for my Guests while being filmed, so thank you for being patient while I develop and improve my Youtube Channel:) If you have any DIY projects you would like to see, feel free to let me know.

As for the lovely silk flowers, you can purchase them on Blissful Moments’ Etsy Shop at:

I just wanted to share some Wedding DIY projects from a very talented Bride-to-be, SONYA. She is a new Facebook Friend and I was just amazed when she sent me photos of her accessories. I know how much time and dedication it takes to make one custom fascinator or a custom sash so I knew she had put a lot of heart into her creations. I asked if I could share her works and hope that it would inspire or help another Bride out there (cause she inspired me!)…so check it out!

I asked her a few questions and she replied graciously with an answer:) So here is the Q&A…

Q: What inspired you to DIY (do it yourself)? SONYA: I have always been a diyer. I grew up crafting with my mother and I used to be a craft director at a local horse camp where I helped every summer. One drive to diy a lot of my wedding decorations was to achieve the look I really wanted and to truly personalize it. And it’s typically cheaper! My motto has always been “If you can make it, don’t buy it.”

Q: Which Youtique Bridal Tutorials did you use? SONYA: I used the Serena tutorialfor most of my flowers and modified it for others. I attached the flowers to my wire floral stems by curling one end with pliers and sandwiching it between two pieces of felt and lots of hot glue, then glue the flower to the stem base. (flower bouquet below)

Q: How did you create the corset and monogram on your bouquet? SONYA: The corset/monogram feature of the bouquet is actually a separate bouquet wrap that I created to go over the ribbon handle. It is completely removable. To create it I cut a piece of 4 inch ribbon to the correct length and hemmed the sides to keep it from fraying. The corset loops are made with 1/8″ ribbon that I hot-glued in loops on each end. For the monogram, I wrote several D’s until I found one I was happy with. I then recreated it by hand-placing each gem one at a time onto the bouquet wrap. After that, I hand-placed the green gems to form the heart that interlocks with the D. It is hard to see in the pictures but on the back of the bouquet wrap is a line of clear gems down each edge. Lastly, I laced up my wrap with some of the ribbon I had left over from making my garters (1).

(1) These are the garters I made. The one on the top is the one I’ll be wearing; the other is my toss garter.

(2) The bottom of the bouquet was slightly more challenging as it was uneven. I cut a piece of cardstock to the size I needed and hot-glued it to the bottom. The “happily ever after” is a pendent I found at Hobby Lobby. I just removed the pendent piece and hot-glued it on, then glued crystal around the edges to create a finished look in case someone saw the bottom of my bouquet.

(3) This is one of the flower I’ll be putting on my blue sash. I plan to add two more but I’m not sure if I want to make them in the blue or the white yet. Owls are my absolute favorite animal!! And I’ve been trying to find small ways to feature them and some lovebirds into the wedding details. The flower center is one fine example of a small detail. It’s another pendent from Hobby Lobby that I removed the pendent loop from. I glued it to the center of my Serena flowerthat I will be adding to my sash.

(4) The earrings were my great-grandmother’s screw-back earrings. I, however, have gauged ears and can’t wear regular earrings so I removed the backing and bonded them to a plain pair of gauges so I can walk down the aisle with them. I’m debating adding a dangle feature to them as well but I have six more months to decide.

Q: How did you gem the shoes? SONYA: The shoes were gemmed one tiny gem at a time. I use Jolee’s Jewels 3mm flatback Swavorski crystal and glued them with “Create Your Style” crystal glue pen. (This glue pen has been my saving grace. I’m on pen number 3!) They are a pair of Michael Antonios. I gemmed the white parts of the heel and the platform.

SONYA: This is my ring bearer pillow. All handmade. The center flower is eight inches in diameter.

Q: When is your wedding date and how far in advance did you start to insure that you will be complete by your wedding date? SONYA: My wedding date is April 28th, 2013. After I had so much fun making the first flower from the Serena tutorial(this was about mid-September) I started looking for other ways I could use these flowers in the wedding. I have just under six months and I can’t wait! Now I just need to make my four bridesmaid bouquets, their sash accessories, headpieces, jewelry, and my flower girl headpiece and sash accessory….and I’ll be finished….until I find something else that I want to DIY.

Q: What are your wedding colors? SONYA: My wedding colors are turquoise and chartreuse but I’m also incorporating some black into the wedding. The best part of all my diy projects is they will find a place in my home afterwards. My entire home is in shades of blues and greens. They’re my favorite colors to surround myself with and I find them rejuvenating and soul-soothing.

Q: How did you meet your fiance? SONYA: My fiance’s name is James “JD” Dean. He’s absolutely amazing and has been very supportive of my dining room table craft takeover. To be completely honest I don’t remember how we met. I just remember instantly being close. We were best friends for many years and had actually lived together. One day we kissed and it was like fireworks. I couldn’t imagine being with anyone else and he helps me understand why it’s never worked with any other person. He truly is my other half and my soul mate.

Thank you so much SONYA for sharing! I wish you & JAMES a joyful journey to the alter.

Everyone, I hope this inspires YOU to create something EXTRAordinary:)

If you would like to be inspired by the SERENA Flower as well, please see the tutorial below:

Last week a special custom order was placed all the way from Florida. Routinely, I try to get to know the “Guest” or the person I am designing for a little better. Since this order was a gift, I asked “Apple” (a nickname I gave my client) to describe the person she was giving it too. She mentioned that he was a humorous and down-to-earth Pediatric Doctor. Not only did she describe the Doctor but she added a little comment about his lovely wife…that she would bake for all the residents on Christmas and take care of everyone.

Although the initial order was a bow tie for the Doctor, we could not resist but design for his caring wife a matching flower brooch. So here is the custom {JEREMY} Bow Tie and the {CAMRYN} Flower Brooch.

Because this is for a Guest, I used a more formal Bow Tie strap rather than the elastic band used in the {JEREMY} Bow Tie tutorial. Here are the steps to make the strap in detail:

With the {CAMRYN} Flower Brooch, I used the 100%cotton fabric as well as tulle for some fullness & structure. I can actually see this being made for the Groomsmen and creating the matching flower for the Bridesmaids’ sashes…cute! Here are the tutorials if you would like to create it yourself. Enjoy!

A couple of weeks ago, my little cousin Michael (okay…he’s not so little anymore) was asked to attend a winter formal. He approached me and asked if I could make the corsage for his date. Where had the time gone? I use to babysit this kid and now he’s in college going to winter formals with a date?! Haha…yes, I’m getting a little older each year:) Anyway, we agreed that he would make the flowers and I would put the design together. So look what Michael made….

CAMRYN & SERENA Fabric flowers accented with rhinestones & feathers

Michael used the CAMRYN tutorial & the SERENA flower technique to create a beautiful corsage.

Michael making the corsage flowers

Great job Michael!!!

Also back in early December, my Aunt Kimmie from California was put in charge of the Bridal hair accessories for Uncle Vince’s Wedding. She was assigned the task at the last minute. Not only did she have to complete this task, she had to host family and friends from out of town (including me), pick up people from the airport (including me), decorate the living room for the morning ceremony, help transport some of the Church decor, be a mother to 3 young children, and I’m sure she had a long list of ToDo’s. By nature, she is loving, nurturing & humble person…just a few beautiful things I admire about her. So when she contacted me, I was excited to help in any way.

As soon as we landed in California, she picked us up and we reunited with some of the other family members. After eating & some catching up, we headed out to the fabric store to get materials. I was going to be the teacher and she the student.

Aunt Kimmie making the CAMRYN

She learned how to create the CAMRYN fabric flower. I am so grateful for this time. It is always nice to have quality time with Aunt Kimmie since I only get to see her once every 3 years or sometimes even longer. And plus, we have such a large extended family that it can be hard to have one on one time with people. Well, check out what she made….beautiful job Aunt Kimmie!

I am very proud to be related to these people. Even though I may not get to see them often, I love them dearly. Also, they made a very proud teacher out of me:)…beautiful work Aunt Kimmie & Michael!

If you would like to learn how to make the CAMRYNflower, here is the tutorial:

These lovely ladies have a lot to smile about. Look at the beautiful Flower Fascinators they created from the class. Nkechi is a pro at crafting and Edith is a flourishing crafter. Both are very talented young ladies that give their time and talents to their community. They shared the idea about teaching young people and the children they work with how to make these beautiful fabric flowers. It feels good to know these flower techniques could be passed on for the good of our community. It makes this all the more rewarding for me. Love it!

Next class will be Tuesday Oct. 11, 6:00pm – 8:30pm. For more information, click {here}.